The Gloomy Overseas Student Rewards His Hubby With Some Thirst Traps - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The bedroom was already dark.

Only a few stray specks of light from the living room lamp filtered through the gaps in the bookshelf. The warm yellow glow spilled across Yu Yan-shuang’s face, which was frozen in disbelief. He instinctively scooted backward, the spring mattress swaying beneath him.

Yu Yan-shuang’s heart fluttered nervously.

Seine stood by the bed with his back to the light, casting a massive shadow that completely engulfed Yu Yan-shuang. At this moment, Yu Yan-shuang truly felt like he had been locked in a cage.

Crossing his arms defensively, he said, “Seine, Seine, stop. Don’t come any closer. There’s no need for you to check—you’re not a doctor.”

Seine leaned forward slightly and, with effortless grace, reached out and caught Yu Yan-shuang’s ankle.

With hardly any strength, he pulled. The distance Yu Yan-shuang had struggled to create was vanished instantly; he was dragged back and ended up flat on his back on the bed.

“Little Yu,” Seine explained patiently, “I know you Chinese people are more reserved, but if an injury in this area gets infected, it can be very dangerous. We are both men; why are you so guarded against me?”

Yu Yan-shuang’s heart was racing. In this position, it felt as though his legs were practically wrapping around Seine’s thighs.

He argued, “I know my own body. We’re both men, but you… you did that kind of thing. It’s weird for me to let you look again!”

Seine looked puzzled. “What’s weird about it? It was only because I drank that I lost my sense of propriety. Under normal circumstances, who would want to touch another man? I’m just checking.”

Yu Yan-shuang was almost convinced. Just as he was about to drop his guard, a thought struck him: “Wait, why do you need to check? It’s not like it’ll help.”

The issue wasn’t whether he should let a man check him—it was whether he should let this man check him.

Seine paused. He realized Yu Yan-shuang wasn’t that easy to fool anymore.

Yesterday’s events had made Yu Yan-shuang extremely wary. He was no longer the boy who would obediently follow Seine’s lead after a bit of simple provocation.

“Could it be you want me to touch you like I did yesterday?” Seine raised an eyebrow.

Yu Yan-shuang used his strength to kick his ankle free from Seine’s grasp.

Because Seine was worried about hurting him again, his grip wasn’t tight. Normally, Yu Yan-shuang wouldn’t have been able to break free; he probably would have been pinned to the bed with his clothes lifted for a thorough inspection.

Yu Yan-shuang sat up on his knees, his face stern. “How is that possible? Do you have any idea how rough you were? It’s swollen like crazy! The wound has made that area look huge—it’s never been this big.”

He had no idea how ambiguous and exciting his accusations sounded to Seine.

Seine kept his head lowered, his gaze practically glued to Yu Yan-shuang. He never imagined a day would come when Yu Yan-shuang would sit on his bed, looking up at him like this.

In his fantasies, Yu Yan-shuang would be lying on this bed, surrounded by Seine’s scent. His little face would be slick with sweat, his eyes flushed red from the heat, his pupils rolling back from pleasure. Or perhaps, from the intensity, his full lips would be parted wide as he gasped for air, revealing a sliver of his pink tongue.

“I’m truly sorry. I need to see what kind of ointment to buy for you. If it’s not treated properly and the wound starts oozing pus, it might have to be cut off. You’ll cry,” Seine threatened.

Cut off…

Yu Yan-shuang’s eyes widened. If he were back home, he might be embarrassed, but he’d go to a hospital. But abroad… he was in an unfamiliar place, and he was even afraid of getting shot if he left the campus. According to the book’s destined ending, he was supposed to die.

Seine continued, “What? You think I’d want to touch you again? Am I crazy?”

Yu Yan-shuang wrinkled his pretty face. It really did hurt. It seemed that while working in the kitchen today, sweat had gotten under the Band-Aid, making the raw skin sting even more.

He hesitated. He had no friends; even Garcia, a casual friend, had betrayed him. Who else could he ask for help?

“Fine. Just look at the location of the wound and help me find out what ointment to buy. Nothing else,” Yu Yan-shuang said seriously.

He truly didn’t know how to buy medicine in the U.S., and those technical terms for ointments were beyond him. He was practically a child when it came to life skills; the fact that he hadn’t starved yet was a miracle.

Seine’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I promise not to touch you. Lift your shirt.”

The commanding tone made Yu Yan-shuang feel even stranger. He lifted a section to show the wound, but Seine ordered, “Higher.”

Following the command instinctively, Yu Yan-shuang felt Seine’s large hand cup the back of his head. Seine’s fingers slid through his soft hair against his scalp, sending a shiver down Yu Yan-shuang’s spine.

“Good boy. You did great.”

The deep, magnetic voice was full of indulgence. The large palm felt incredibly grounding.

Seine looked at him with a mix of tenderness and distress, appearing genuinely remorseful. He was focused, almost reverent, as he cupped Yu Yan-shuang’s face in his hands.

Perhaps it was the clothes, or perhaps Seine had sprayed perfume on his wrists, but Yu Yan-shuang’s nose was filled with the scent of cedar and cold fir. It was calming and reassuring. Unconsciously, he let his face lean into the palm, his cheek pressing against it, causing his lips to part slightly.

Being cherished and valued like this made Yu Yan-shuang’s eyes sting. It had been a long, long time since anyone had praised him.

Before he was twelve, Yu Yan-shuang thought life was bliss. People praised his looks, his parents loved his studiousness, and his brother praised his liveliness. Everything changed when he hit puberty. His father’s expression soured whenever he looked at him, and his parents began to fight. His father suspected his mother of having an affair because Yu Yan-shuang looked nothing like the rest of the family.

The fighting, the cursing, the mutual accusations… until they both actually did have affairs. His brother’s attitude turned cold, questioning why he looked the way he did. Yu Yan-shuang started skipping class, hanging out at bars, and getting into fights. Just as he became accustomed to being blamed, his parents suddenly reconciled—except they treated him with total indifference. They didn’t even bother to scold him anymore.

Only when the “real” young master was brought back to the Yu family did Yu Yan-shuang realize they had done a DNA test long ago. They knew he wasn’t their child but didn’t tell him; they just watched him with cold eyes, ignoring him. Once the biological child returned, they didn’t even want to look at the “fake” child anymore and discarded him.

“I’m sorry. I think I broke you. Does it hurt very much?” Seine stared for a long time. The area that should have been the most delicate was now red and swollen like overripe fruit due to his roughness.

He couldn’t control the dark thoughts swirling in his mind. But then he saw that Yu Yan-shuang’s eyes were turning red.

Seine pulled him a little closer, finding Yu Yan-shuang uncharacteristically obedient as his face was held. He vaguely remembered that every time he held Yu Yan-shuang’s face to wipe his tears or comfort him, Yu Yan-shuang didn’t pull away immediately like he usually did.

He was still a child in need of comfort. Seine felt he had been too impatient.

Seine’s heart softened. He leaned in closer, smelling the fresh scent on Yu Yan-shuang, which seemed to carry a hint of sweet milky candy. He barely restrained the urge to pick him up and kiss him. He said softly, “I’ll buy you some painkillers and something cooling, okay? Poor little guy, don’t be sad. It’s all my fault. I was too rough with you.”

Although Yu Yan-shuang’s eyes weren’t red just because of the pain—the injury had worsened partly because he had scrubbed himself frantically in the shower last night—his current damp eyes were mostly due to the fact that no one had coaxed him like this in a long time.

The more gently Seine coaxed him, the more aggrieved and hurt Yu Yan-shuang felt. Yet he didn’t want to cry; crying over something like this felt embarrassing and unmanly. It was just a bit of broken skin, after all.

Yu Yan-shuang tried to hold back his tears, his face set, but a large, crystalline tear hung precariously at the corner of his eye. This pitiable sight only made the wicked thoughts in Seine’s mind surge more violently.

Seine acted on it, his rough thumb brushing across the corner of the eye to pitilessly wipe away the unshed tear.

Yu Yan-shuang had already let his shirt fall back down. His voice was coldly controlled, his expression defiant: “Now you know how bad you are! I want you to buy me medicine! Write my papers! Help me graduate!”

Only a hard-edged attitude could cover up the lingering fear from last night. Yu Yan-shuang was forcing himself not to think about those sensations—the humiliating moments of being pinned down. By focusing on the evidence he had of Seine’s “perversion,” he could ignore the moments he was at Seine’s mercy. He suppressed his initial feelings like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

Seine was holding onto his last shred of sanity. He had never been ordered around by anyone, yet he didn’t care about Yu Yan-shuang’s attitude. His mind was stuck on the last sentence. He confirmed, “Help you graduate? So for the next four years, you’re going to be with me?”

“What do you mean ‘with you’? You’re going to be my slave!” Yu Yan-shuang said fiercely.

Seine’s mood lifted instantly. His frustration vanished, along with his darker, more forceful thoughts. The corners of his mouth quirked up. “Alright, my little master. Now take off your pants and let me check.”

Yu Yan-shuang clutched his waistband, frowning with displeasure. “Don’t call me that! And you don’t need to check. Go buy the medicine right now. I won’t say it twice!”

Perhaps because he had bullied Yu Yan-shuang too hard lately—seeing him obedient, seeing him cry—Seine found Yu Yan-shuang’s cold, scolding tone even more exciting. The slender, dark-haired youth, with his arched brows and cold black eyes, was breathtakingly aloof.

Seine leaned in again and grabbed Yu Yan-shuang’s ankle, pulling him closer.

“Are you shy? Shy in front of a man? Don’t forget, we’re both men. Aren’t you afraid this won’t work anymore?” Seine said with a bit of mischief. “Then you’ll never have a girlfriend, you poor thing.”

Furious, Yu Yan-shuang kicked Seine’s thigh, but it felt like kicking a stone wall.

“You’re the poor thing, Seine! Are you feeling smug again? Think you’ve bullied me enough to get your revenge? I’m warning you, show some respect! Don’t forget that video. Don’t call me ‘poor thing,’ or I’ll post it for everyone to see how perverse you are!”

With his ultimate leverage, Yu Yan-shuang was no longer afraid. He wouldn’t let Seine trick him or force him into anything again.

Seine’s lack of fear infuriated him.

“Change my blanket! Once you’ve bought the medicine, take your computer and get out of my room! I want to see my paper tomorrow!” Yu Yan-shuang jumped off the bed, distancing himself from Seine and issuing an even sharper command.

Seine remained standing in the dim room. His dark clothes almost made him blend into the shadows, looking like a demon that had invaded the space. Hardly anyone dared to speak to Seine like that. Coming from a wealthy and powerful family, everyone he met was polite to a fault. Even those more powerful than the Bath family wouldn’t treat him with such blatant disregard.

Having been flattered all his life, Seine was indeed a bit displeased, his gaze darkening. Standing in the shadows, his eyes roamed over Yu Yan-shuang, who stood tall and defiant in the light. His mind was filled with the urge to silence that mouth—ideally with something Yu Yan-shuang would loathe.

Of course, Seine only thought about it for a second before dismissing it; the idea of even kissing Yu Yan-shuang’s lips until they were swollen pained him.

After his outburst, Yu Yan-shuang couldn’t help but feel a bit scared. Would Seine hit him? Like, half to death?

But… he swallowed hard and lifted his chin even higher, his beautiful features glowing in the light. He had been bullied enough yesterday; he wasn’t going to suck up to Seine anymore. With the video in hand, what was there to fear?

Seine chuckled softly, stepping out from the shadows into the light. He looked at Yu Yan-shuang’s stubborn, unyielding expression, noticing how he kept swallowing—a clear sign of his inner nervousness.

If you don’t coax a straight man properly, how are you going to get him into bed? Since the little guy promised the next four years to him, he would take it slow, in a way the boy could accept.

“Little Yu, I’ll do everything you said. I was too bad last night.” Seine patted Yu Yan-shuang’s head. “Go shower. Leave the rest to me.”

Yu Yan-shuang froze for a second, feeling as if Seine’s palm had burned him. He took a quick step back and added, “Change the blanket for me. I just lay on it in my street clothes. I want a brand new set!”

Seine’s gaze was gentle. “Of course. I won’t disappoint you.”

…

Perhaps it was because the environment was too quiet, or because the ointment Seine bought was so cooling. Or perhaps it was because the bed was so soft…

An unprecedented warmth and comfort caused Yu Yan-shuang to have a rather embarrassing dream.

It was like the previous dream: he was sitting on Seine’s lap, encircled by muscular arms. He felt safe. In the dream, he buried his face in a large, sturdy, reassuring hand. That hand rubbed his face gently, with a sense of preciousness and deep tenderness.

It was just like how Seine had comforted him during the day, but the setting was the garden where they first met. He could even hear frogs croaking nearby.

Yu Yan-shuang’s nose was filled with the scent of cold mountain cedar, with an earthy base note of pine cones. He was helplessly intoxicated, taking a deep breath. He felt a reassuring hand stroking the back of his head, occasionally running through his hair, his rough skin grazing the scalp and sending shivers through his body.

“Good boy, you’re doing so well, just like that…”

The moment that familiar voice whispered in his ear, Yu Yan-shuang snapped awake.

It was pitch black outside; he had slept incredibly soundly. The whole room was silent. He knew he was alone after kicking Seine out, yet that deep voice from the dream—like a rich voice-over from a movie—seemed to linger in his ear.

His expression was mortified. He had slept well, so well that he had such a strange dream!

He immediately blamed the dream on the fact that although he told Seine to change the blanket, Seine must have used his usual laundry detergent. That’s why he spent the night in a surreal dream filled with Seine’s voice, scent, and figure.

I can never let Seine hold me like a child again…

Yu Yan-shuang climbed out of bed. The pajamas he was wearing were also provided by Seine, so they naturally smelled like the detergent on the blanket. That feeling of being surrounded by Seine wouldn’t go away. He felt muddled and decided he should pick out his own laundry detergent.

He sat up and stared at a small damp spot on the duvet. Shame and frustration flooded his face. It was all because the clothes Seine bought were too comfortable—the silk-textured fabric felt smooth against his skin, and the underwear was so soft it made him forget the pain. How was Seine so good at serving people? How did he buy everything so perfectly fitted and comfortable?

He crumpled the duvet into a ball to keep it out of sight. He turned on the light and saw that the streetlights outside were still on. It was only 3:00 AM. Chicago’s winter was approaching; the only sound was the whistling wind rattling the windows.

Without Garcia talking nearby, without Seine to make him angry, and without the constant noise of the surroundings, Yu Yan-shuang felt a bit scared. He hadn’t been alone like this in a long time. He stood blankly in the quiet room, lost in thought.

Christmas was almost here. In the book, he was described as dying in a shooting on Christmas Day while walking home alone from work.

Feeling the chill from the damp spot as he stood there, Yu Yan-shuang pushed down the rising loneliness. He began searching for new clothes, grabbed the ointment, and headed into the bathroom.

In the afternoon, when Yu Yan-shuang had come out of the shower, he saw that Seine had arranged everything: the ointment and new clothes were by the bed, and the duvet cover had been replaced with a warm yellow one. Seine was nowhere to be found. Seeing Seine being so obedient, Yu Yan-shuang had felt a brief flash of guilt—after all, this was Seine’s dorm. But then he remembered what Seine had done and felt Seine deserved it.

Yu Yan-shuang had deadbolted the door and even blocked it with a chair, fearing Seine might sneak in. Having slept until this hour, he had to admit that swapping dorms was a good idea. If he could sleep like this every day, quit his job, and study properly, graduating and going home wouldn’t be hard.

But then he had that dream tonight… burying his face in Seine’s hand while relieving himself. Even though the face of the owner of those hands and that voice didn’t appear, Yu Yan-shuang knew clearly it was Seine.

Someone just hit me with a stick and knock me out!!

He thought indignantly. Was it because he’d been around Seine too much lately, or because he hadn’t relieved himself in too long? It was all Seine’s fault!

In the dream, although Seine was just holding him, the unfamiliar sensations from when he was first touched last night came rushing back. At first, he had felt dazed, shivering, and startled. In the dream, those initial feelings completely overshadowed the later pain.

Desperate, Yu Yan-shuang began washing his underwear, deciding he shouldn’t see Seine again. He could call Seine to explain the paper’s outline and the finance courses. He just wouldn’t meet him in person.

As he was washing, he realized the fabric was the kind Garcia mentioned—if you scrub too hard, it becomes wrinkled and ruined.

What a spendthrift!

When Yu Yan-shuang came out carrying the wet laundry, he saw that Seine had somehow entered and was sitting by the bed. His aloof face was leaning toward the damp spot, as if he were sniffing something delicious.

The sight made Yu Yan-shuang’s skin crawl. It was like seeing something that should be impossible.

“Seine! Get away from there! How did you get in?” Yu Yan-shuang said urgently.

Hearing his voice, Seine looked up and lightly brushed his finger over the damp spot. He turned his head toward Yu Yan-shuang and said slowly, “Little Yu, what did you do in my bed?”